“A common candidate is the only way out”

Friday, 22 August 2014 00:01 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) claims the Opposition is still not prepared to put forward a common presidential candidate, despite speculation. TNA Parliamentarian Suresh Premachandran asserted that although a common presidential candidate will be the only way out of the present situation, there is lack of seriousness in the talks about the matter. He added that a member of the Buddhist clergy will not be able to secure votes of all communities. “The present situation in the country is such that Tamils and Muslims will never support a Buddhist clergyman no matter how honest and genuine is.” Following are excerpts from the interview: Q: What are your views about the forthcoming presidential elections? A: There is so much of talk about a presidential election, but nobody knows whether it going to be a presidential election or a general election. Therefore, the TNA has not discussed anything about the presidential election so far. Once they make a proper announcement we will decide what we need to do. Q: Whom will you support? What are your conditions? A: We have not taken any decision about supporting a particular candidate. Nor have we worked out any conditions as such. But definitely as people who have been suppressed by this Government for a long time there are some vital facts that need to be taken into consideration. There are so many problems we are facing after the war. They have not addressed our priority issues. These issues will be taken up with the concerned candidate, whoever it may be. Political settlement is one of our biggest problems. The post-war ground situation, resettlements that have still not finished and militarisation – all these issues are present. Whoever the candidate is, these are the matters that concern us. Q: What is your party’s stand on abolishing the executive presidency? A: From the very beginning we have been against the executive presidency. The executive presidency has created a lot of trouble in this country. It is the executive presidency that led to dictatorial rule. This Government changed the 17th Amendment and brought the 18th Amendment. A president can contest any number of times. This will only lead to dictatorial rule. That cannot be allowed. The TNA is totally against the executive presidency. Q: Will you support a common candidate? A: As a party the TNA believes a common presidential candidate will be the only way out of the present situation. There is a lot of talk about a common candidate. We welcome this move. It is a good move. The Opposition should understand that contesting separately should not be the strategy. If they want to defeat the present President, the Opposition needs to get together. This is why we say only a strong common candidate will be able to make a change. Unfortunately we still don’t see that the Opposition as a whole is properly prepared for this. We don’t see any seriousness in these talks about a common candidate. Various Buddhist monks have made certain remarks about the matter. But none of the major Opposition parties have clearly stated their position on this issue. Q: Speculation is rife that Maduluwawe Sobitha Thero will be contesting as the common candidate at the next presidential election. Will you support Sobitha Thero? A: There is such speculation, but no one has come out in public and said anything. Let me tell you one thing; the common candidate should be acceptable to all communities. That is the most important thing. A member of the Buddhist clergy will not be able to secure votes of Tamils and Muslims. The present situation in the country is such that Tamils and Muslims will never support a Buddhist clergyman no matter how honest and genuine he is. Q: Do you want to defeat Mahinda Rajapaksa and if so, why? A: Yes, we want to defeat Mahinda Rajapaksa. The present President and his Government have failed to run the country according to the expectations of the people. Set aside the grievances of the people in north and east; look at the suffering of the people in other parts of the country. Everywhere you look, all you can see is dictatorship, family rule and nepotism. Nobody wants to live in such a country. It is the military that is running this country. It is not a matter that is common only to the north and east. It is happening in the south too. Why do you need military training in the education sector? Why do you need colonels and majors in schools? Can’t you see what is happening to this country? We want a proper candidate who can defeat this President. We are clear about that. Q: Will you support Ranil Wickremesinghe if he contests as the common candidate? A: I cannot comment on that because we have still not discussed this matter. But we are against the executive presidential system. We will welcome whoever comes forward to abolish this system. Whoever comes should be in a position to win the elections. Those are the basic things we will take into consideration when supporting a candidate. Whoever comes, he should be able to gather votes. We have to win the election. However, first we have to discuss among ourselves. It is only then that we will be able to elaborate on that matter. Q: Certain TNA members have reportedly stated that your party will not support Ranil Wickremesinghe at the upcoming presidential election. Is there any truth to this? A: That must be their personal view, but as a party we have still not taken such a decision. Q: Is it true that your party is controlled by India? A: The TNA belongs to Sri Lanka; there is no controlling by India or any other country. If any of these countries support us for a right cause, we welcome that. There are problems in the country and definitely we will get their support to resolve those problems. We need the support of the international and India’s support to resolve this problem. Q: How would you describe the present situation in the north? A: There is no improvement in the situation in the north. There are several thousand people who need to be resettled. Their lands are still occupied by the Army. Those are private and fertile lands. The Army is not willing to release them to the people. The President has given a promise to the Secretary General of the United Nations that within one year all these people will be resettled in their own areas. After five years of war this Government has not resettled the people. These people are eagerly waiting to return to their lands. Even the Northern Provincial Council has been unable to resolve this matter because the Government is running another administration through the Governor. There are two separate administrations. One is run by the Governor and one is run by the Chief Minister. This situation is making the lives of the people more difficult. There are several thousand people who need a livelihood to support their families. Unfortunately this Government does not have any plan to solve these matters. These are the most pressing matters in the post-war scenario. Their housing problem has not been addressed. The Indian Government has given 50,000 housing units but that is not only for the Northern Province. Q: Provincial councils have all powers apart from police powers. But you have failed to fulfil the aspirations of the people. Why? A: Other provinces may be enjoying various powers. It is the ruling party that is controlling these provinces. Things are very different in the Northern Province. In the Northern Province it is the Governor who is running the show. The Governor strongly feels that he is the representative of the Executive President. She behaves like an executive governor. The Governor is interfering in all the administrative work and not allowing the Chief Minister to function in his own way. Even the Chief Secretary is working under the Governor and not under the Chief Minister. The Chief Secretary never obeys the Chief Minister’s orders. For the first time in Sri Lankan history, the Chief Secretary went to the Supreme Court saying her fundamental rights were infringed by the Chief Minister because of a circular. These officers and moves are supported by the President and the Government.